Smoker&#39;s pipe holster



Unit

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 842,153, filed September 24, 1959, now abandoned.

This invention, relates to a holster which may be suspended from the waist of a garment or from a belt of the wearer for the purpose of holding a smoking pipe in a manner readily accessible and detachable therefrom, while affording a firm grip on the stem or mouthpiece of the pipe against inadvertent slipping from the holster when being normally carried thereby.

The invention contemplates the holster proper being made in the form of a flexible sheet of material, the lateralportions of which may be folded over each other, to form a tube for the reception of a pipe stem, and provided with a snap fastener onthe folded-over poritions, which fastener may be, released by the forceful pulling of the pipe stem radially toward the said fastener; and a tongue of leather or similar fiacid material upwardly extending from the upper portion of said sheet of material adapted to be folded down within the said holster and provided with a suitable preferably compressible friction surface to impinge the pipe stem or mouthpiece whereby to resist its movement downwardly within the holster.

It is further proposed that this tongue, including the means forming its friction surface, be tapered in thickness toward the extremity thereof; whereby the extent to which the end of the tongue is inserted downwardly into the tubular holster will determine the available space therein to receive the stem or mouthpiece of the pipe and thus provide an adjustment to accommodate the same according to the thickness or shape of the pipe stem.

It is further contemplated that the said tongue may be formed of a length to also serve as the means by which the holster can be suspended from a belt or garment of a wearer, although I prefer that the belt loop provided as an additional strap extending upwardly from the body of the holster.

A desirable feature of the device is the pivoting of the belt loop, whether it be the aforesaid tongue or the strap just referred to, or both of them, to permit such movement of the holster relative to its supporting means as to overcome any rigid tendency of the depending pipe carried thereby to interfere objectionably with the leg movements of the wearer, especially under such circumstances as where the wearer may be sitting down.

Still further objects or advantages additional or sub sidiary to the aforesaid objects, or resulting from the construction or operation of the invention as it may be carried into effect, will become apparent as the said invention is hereinafter further disclosed.

In carrying the said invention into effect, I may adopt the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, by way of example, having reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the holster in its open or spread condition; and

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the same in its closed condition with the body of the holster in section.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar parts of the several figures of the drawing.

In the form illustrated, the holster proper comprises a fiat body extended laterally in the form of flaps 10' and 10 which may be folded one over the other, as

States Patent 01 from, a. tongue 12,- the-terminal portion of-which ,is

formed with or has securedlthereto, a gripper pad.13 by means-of; embracing-staples 14;-and, inits preferred form, ;this;tongue (including the gripper pad) istapered in thickness toward the extremitydhereof, as shown.

In the arrangement shown the tongue 12. is shown as havinga series of; snap fastenen members .-15 carried thereby in such manner that one or other of these members rnay-beengaged with a corresponding fastener merriber=15-' carried by the-body 10 of the holster whereby the gripper pad 13 will be-securedin various positions of vertical adjustmentrelevant to the body of the holster as willbe readilyapparent.

. 16 is a beltstrap attached to the back of the holster body by means of a swivel connection.1 7, which may also be in the formof a snap fastener cooperating with a second member 17 in such manner that the tongue 12 may similarly swivel about the axis of the fastener. This belt strap 16 is also preferably provided with snap fastener elements 18 and 18' for adjustable closure, as will be obvious.

While a common form of snap fastener is shown throughout in the illustration, it will be quite well understood that any suitable form of fastening elements may be used for the purposes described.

The underlapping flap 10 of the holster body may be lined or provided with a layer of resilient slip-resisting material such as rubber 19.

In use, the said tongue 12 is bent forwardly and downwardly into the tubular holster, as shown in FIGURE 2, whereby the frictional surface of the gripper pad bears against the stem or mouthpiece of a pipe inserted into the holster and resists its inadvertent slipping downwardly from the holster; and, obviously this tongue serves to restrict the bore of the holster to provide for the necessary effective engagement with the pipe stem.

Therefore, where the tongue is tapered in the manner described, this restriction will be accentuated as the tongue is inserted further into the holster, thus providing for the accommodation of pipe stems of lesser thickness or diameter as may be required.

Furthermore, any force tending to effect the downward movement of the pipe stem in the closed holster will simply tend to draw the tapered portion of the tongue further into the holster, and thereby increase the resistance to such downward movement, so that inadvertent slipping of the pipe stem from the holster is resisted to a high degree. This is important, because a feature of the device is that it is intended to hold the pipe with the bowl downward so that moisture in the bowl may not drain into the bore of the stem of the pipe.

The removal of the pipe from the holster may be readily effected by simply pulling the bowl of the pipe forwardly of the holster so that the resulting radial pressure of the stem of the pipe against the fastener will effect its separation and result in the opening of the flaps of the holster.

Obviously, the tongue 12 and the body 10 may be of an integral nature, as may be the tongue and the gripper pad 13, such as when the holster is constructed of a molded flexible material.

The holster proper may be secured to the waist belt of a garment or to the belt of the wearer by any suitable means, but I prefer to loop the tongue 12 in the manner Patented Mayl, 1962 illustrated for that purpose or to provide a separate belt strap 16 as suggested in the drawing. 1

This swivelling of the belt strap and/or the tongue is of importance as permitting the depending bowlof the pipe to swing to one side when it would be otherwise interfere with leg movement of the user.

It should be noted that a feature of the device is that the pipe bowl is not enclosed or otherwise obstructed and the securing means is confined to the stem of the pipe without danger of the pipe slipping from the holster.

This invention may be developed within the scope of the following claims without departing from the essential features of the said invention, and it is desired that the specification and drawing be read as being merely illustrative of a practical embodiment of the same and not in strictly limiting sense.

What I claim is:

1. In a smoking pipe holster, a flexible body having lateral flaps folded forwardly over one another to form a tube, for the purpose of receiving the stern of a pipe with the pipe bowl positioned below theholster and the lower end of said holster terminating short of the pipe bowl, separable fastener elements on said flaps, a vertically extending downwardly tapering compressiblefriction pad on the rear inner surface of said holster to frictionally engage a material length of the pipe stem, and means for suspending said holster from a support.

2. In a smoking pipe holster, a flexible body having lateral flaps folded forwardly over one another to form a tube for the purpose of receiving the stern of a pipe with the pipe bowl positioned below said holster and the lower end of said holster terminating short of the pipe bowl, separable fastener elements on said flaps, an elongated flexible tongue extending from the upper medial edge of said body whereby its free end may be bent downwardly into the tubular holster, a resiliently compressible pad on said free end to frictionally engage the stem of a pipe throughout a material length thereof, and means for suspending said holster from a support.

3. A smoking pipe holster according to claim 1, wherein said downwardly tapered resilient pad is vertically adjustable within said holster whereby to variably restrict the bore of said holster to accommodate pipes of differing stern diameters.

4. A smoking pipe holster according to claim 3, wherein means are provided to secure said pad in positions of vertical adjustment in said holster.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,566,195 Gandrau Dec. 15, 1925 2,457,364 Gluckman Dec. 28, 1948 2,531,170 Tackett Nov. 21, 1950 2,654,514 Jensen Oct. 6, 1953 2,784,887 Habler Mar. 12, 1957 

